Certificates

Certificates are available to traditional and non-traditional students who meet all admission requirements. Students must be admitted to Mississippi State University in order to pursue certificates. Prerequisite courses are required in order to qualify for the certificate programs (normally satisfied at the undergraduate level). Some engineering certificate programs may be available to non-engineering graduate students. Please refer to the specific certificate of interest for prerequisite requirements and certificates available to non-engineering graduate students.

All certificates require that a student take a minimum of 15 hours of academic credit (5 courses) in an approved certificate area and may be earned by completing selected courses from a list of qualifying courses designated by a representative faculty member or committee. Hours earned in acquiring a certificate may be counted toward completion of an advanced engineering degree. A graduate student must achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on courses taken to acquire a certificate. Upon satisfactory completion of the required course work, the student will become a candidate for certification. The MSU transcript will indicate successful completion of the certificate program. Contact information is provided below for each certificate program.

Automotive Engineering—The Automotive Engineering Certificate enhances the education of a student in topical subject matter related specifically to automotive engineering. This certificate was developed in support of the automotive manufacturing companies in the state of Mississippi to provide students an opportunity to focus on engineering knowledge and issues related to the design of vehicle systems and their production. The program is multi-disciplinary, allowing students from all areas of engineering to participate. Course work will be selected from aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering, computer science engineering, engineering mechanics, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering. All students are required to participate in a vehicle design/construction experience which must be approved by the director of the automotive engineering certificate and will be designated as a three-hour directed individual study (4000-level for undergraduate students/7000-level for graduate students) course. Membership in the student section (or appropriate level) of the Society of Automotive Engineers is strongly encouraged. An automotive engineering committee comprised of faculty members from various engineering departments who have an interest in the automotive industry will administer the certificate in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of Engineering. For additional information, contact Dr. Randy Follett, (662) 325-3073 or follett@ece.msstate.edu.

Computational Biology—The computational biology certificate combines course work in computer science and biology to offer students a formal program of study to address how biological systems work by analyzing the data made available with high throughput biology. Students will gain fundamental skills in computing integrated with biology (i.e., application techniques to understand the structures, functions, dynamics and evolution of living organisms) and will become competitive for high-end employment in emerging technical fields. The well-defined program will provide students with recognition of their training in the area and will allow students from diverse disciplines to learn together. The program will be administered by the computer science and engineering department, the Center for Computer Security Research and the Office of the Dean of Engineering. The certificate is awarded by the Bagley College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. For additional information, contact Dr. Andy Perkins at 662-325-0004 or perkins@cse.msstate.edu.

Energy—The energy certificate allows students the opportunity to learn about traditional and alternative energy sources. Students take courses in thermodynamics and electrical circuits and alternative energy and specialized courses in their discipline or in a related discipline. The students who successfully complete the energy certificate will be able to 1) demonstrate an awareness and broadened perspective of energy issues; 2) develop a more in-depth technical understanding of energy areas, and 3) gain knowledge of and perspective for alternate energy sources. The energy certificate is administered by the Energy Working Group within the MSU Energy Institute. For more information on the energy certificate, contact Dr. Jonathan Pote at jpote@abe.msstate.edu.

Entrepreneurship—This program has been designed for engineering students who plan to pursue a career combining technical and business skills. This could include a business startup or working for an entrepreneur in the early years of the business. The certificate also enhances the engineering program for students interested in corporate management. Upon completion of the entrepreneurship program requirements, the associate dean will review the student’s records. If all requirements are met satisfactorily, the associate dean will submit the candidate to the Deans of Business and Industry and of Engineering for issuance of the certificate. The associate dean will notify the Registrar to have a statement placed on the candidate’s transcript. For more information about the entrepreneurship certificate program click here.

Information Assurance—The Information Assurance Certificate provides educational course work in the areas of information assurance and data security. MSU is certified as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance (IA) by the National Security Agency; the IA program of instruction has been certified by the Committee on National Security Standards (CNSS) against the National Training Standard for Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) Professionals—NSTISSI No. 4011 and the National Training Standard for Information Systems Security Officers (ISSO)—NSTISSI No. 4014. The curriculum for the certificate conforms to the federal training standards in this area. A faculty member from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering’s Center for Computer Security Research (CCSR) will be appointed annually to administer the program. The certificate is jointly administered through the CCSR and the Dean of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Additional information may be accessed at http://security.cse.msstate.edu/IAcertificateappl.doc. For more information, contact Dr. David A. Dampier at 662-325-8923 or dampier@cse.msstate.edu.

Manufacturing—In addition to coursework, the manufacturing certificate requires actual work experience in a manufacturing environment equivalent to a cooperative work semester or a summer internship. The certificate is a means for students to gain an enhanced manufacturing-related educational experience. Verification of employment by the employer, including a description of work duties may be required of the candidate prior to certification. The manufacturing certificate is jointly administered by the industrial and systems engineering department and the Dean of Engineering. For additional information, contact Dr. John Usher at 662-325-3865 or usher@ise.msstate.edu.

Materials—The materials certificate recognizes the completion of an organized plan of study in the interdisciplinary materials-related areas. Courses for the certificate cover topics on advanced composites, biomaterials, materials processing, polymers and electrical materials. Through the combination of research and engineering, students may choose to specialize their certificate in any two additional areas of study that include: aerospace, biomedical, chemistry, computer, environmental, forest products, mechanical and physics. The Materials Engineering Working Group (MWG) will serve as the advisory committee to oversee and recommend courses in the certificate group. The materials certificate is administered by the Dean of Engineering. Additional information, including course selection, may be accessed at http://www.bagley.msstate.edu/research/materials/. For specific information, contact Dr. Judith Schneider, the materials engineering coordinator, at 662-325-9154 or Schneider@me.msstate.edu.